Systems and methods for enhancing electronic communications

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods are provided for enhancing communications with electronic devices. In one embodiment, automatically, or upon request by a user, an enabled electronic device disambiguates and enhances terms included in a communication internally or in collaboration with a remote device or server. Such disambiguation or enhancement is accomplished by providing additional information based on the identity, history or contexts related to at least one of the sender or receiver or the content or context of the communication. The electronic device(s) then automatically or at the request of the sender or receiver includes and/or displays the information the communication. This additional information may be curated, continuously in real-time, on the electronic device(s) or server(s) through an iterative process that incorporates feedback from users and/or electronic devices with the goal of providing more accurate and up-to-date information than that is otherwise provided by conventional technologies.

RELATED APPLICATION DATA

This application is a continuation of co-pending application Ser. No.16/188,240, filed Nov. 12, 2018, issuing as U.S. Pat. No. 10,296,568,which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 15/187,386, filed Jun.20, 2016, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 10,127,207, which is a continuation ofapplication Ser. No. 14/814,359, filed Jul. 30, 2015, issued as U.S.Pat. No. 9,372,934, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 14/203,397,filed Mar. 10, 2014, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,098,580, which is acontinuation of application Ser. No. 13/965,013, filed Aug. 12, 2013,issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,676,861, which is a continuation ofapplication Ser. No. 13/040,252, filed Mar. 3, 2011, issued as U.S. Pat.No. 8,510,348, which claims benefit of provisional application Ser. No.61/310,164, filed Mar. 3, 2010, the entire disclosures of which areexpressly incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to systems and methods for facilitating thecreation, distribution, presentation, publication, and/or use ofimbedded shortcodes, particularly geographic identifiers, e.g., in text,maps, URL Addresses, video and static images through digital, print andother visual media and systems, e.g., for output display, input, userinterface, and processing with computers, personal vehicle navigationsystems, mobile phones, and other digital devices.

BACKGROUND

The use of digital media and services to facilitate communication,advertising, and information distribution has evolved significantly inthe past few decades in many respects: the volume and granularity ofinformation available at any time over the Internet and other networks,the mass adoption and use of electronic devices and interfaces,particularly small portable devices, used to request, acquire, and viewsuch information, and the volume of communications of alltypes—consumer, business, governmental, etc.—but especially short,abbreviated messages such as SMS and other text messages.

In addition to exponential growth of online digital information productsand services, including search, the new and rapidly evolving digitalecosystem has created numerous new electronic person to person(s) andapplication to person(s) communications media, including email, SMS,MMS, and instant messaging, social networking, digital chat rooms andother types of typed or printed electronic communications. Theseservices, e.g., Twitter, generate trillions of communications, includingshort text messages and/or images in both one to one and one to manydistribution platforms. One of the new characteristics of SMS and othermessaging, whether through Twitter or otherwise, is the proliferation ofabbreviations, keywords, shortened URL addresses, shortcodes, and othertechniques (collectively “Shortcodes”) used to reference and/orotherwise communicate through these services with a minimum number ofcharacters.

Another important technology development is the ability to quicklydetermine, utilize, store, communicate, and retrieve very preciselocation information that is being used in a new category of goods andservices generally referred to as location-based services (“LBS”). LBShave rapidly evolved into a new industry, perhaps several newindustries, enabling numerous and varied LBS products, applications, andservices through numerous types of electronic devices (e.g., mobilephones, in-vehicle and personal navigation devices (PNDs), portabledigital media players, etc.) as well as through online and mobileinternet websites, applications, services, and media. Many of thesedevices and services visually display maps, content, and relatedinformation, including advertising, through various videos, images,text, icons, names, etc. A growing and now common characteristic of manyof these devices is an emphasis on small size and portability, resultingin smaller screen sizes, keypads, keyboards, and other input mechanisms,thereby creating a premium for highly efficient methods of identifying,displaying, selecting, communicating, inputting information, and/orotherwise interacting with these devices.

Despite the proliferation and growth of LBS services delivered throughdigital devices and electronic communications, printed and other visualmaterials and imagery remain as significant media to displaylocation-based information. Printed materials may include paper maps,handouts, brochures, books, newspapers, magazines, business cards,flyers, billboards, posters, etc. There is a significant need tocontinue to utilize such materials and imagery as well as to providemethods and solutions that facilitate the converging interactive use ofboth print and digital media by users, as well as the migration of usersfrom traditional print media to digital media.

Today, there are numerous LBS services delivered over hundreds ofplatforms and devices, all of which typically include some form of userinterface to interact with the device, imagery, and information. One ofthe problems associated with the reduction in size of devices and theincrease in capabilities is the difficulty of presenting more and moreinformation on these smaller devices such as mobile phones, PNDs,connected watches and jewelry, and other devices. This reduction in sizeof screens and displays presents challenges that are exacerbated by thesubstantial increase in the amount of information that is available toend users through LBS and other services, thereby making it desirable toutilize icons, images, abbreviations, Shortcodes, and other techniquesthat are smaller yet easily understandable and usable by viewers.

While voice, bar code readers and other alternative communicationmethodologies are available in some of these devices, it would appearthat the most prevalent form of input and output for all LBS servicesremains the physical input of numbers, letters, the selections ofbuttons, links, etc. through various types of keypads, keyboards, orother physical interfaces. While many devices have touch screens, thereis often still a need for displaying text on those screens, and there istypically an ongoing need for entering text, typing, or otherwiseselecting or inputting words, letters, numbers, names, and abbreviationsthrough keypads. This can be evidenced by the presence, in virtually alldevices that utilize touch screens for user input, of digitized keypadsor keyboards to facilitate traditional user input. Even where voice andother interfaces are available for input or output, there is still aneed for features, systems, and methods that facilitate the parsing andinterpretation of such input and output and expedite the brevity andefficacy of the communication to minimize errors resulting frombackground noise, inefficiency in voice recognition systems, language,dialects and accent obstacles, etc. In many cases, providers or userselect visual and physical input and output of various types, e.g., text,images, lists, etc., despite the presence of more and more functionalvoice interfaces for convenience (e.g., interaction in a crowded and/ornoisy location) or because of less obvious but nevertheless meaningfulobstacles associated with voice services such as basic and more complexhuman auditory recognition, memory, and association obstacles. One maycasually observe consumers interacting with mobile phones to quicklylearn that a substantial and growing portion of mobile phone usage andinteraction today is with the display and keypad rather than voice.

Even though various dedicated devices and services may efficientlyhandle the visual and input/output communications needs in a closedinteraction loop exclusively between the devices and the users of suchdevices and services, that efficiency may be greatly reduced when a userwants to write down, speak, or otherwise communicate such information toothers and/or the user or another user wants to utilize such informationwith other devices and services. Therefore, in many cases input/outputmust be interoperable across various materials, devices, images andservices.

There are numerous alphabets, characters, format approaches, languages,and other differences and barriers to communication and interoperabilitythat may need to be eliminated or minimized. Sources estimate thatworldwide there are over six thousand (6,000) languages, dozens ofalphabets and scripts, over one hundred twenty (120) different postaladdress formats and over forty (40) personal name formats.

SUMMARY

The present invention is directed to systems and methods forfacilitating the creation, distribution, presentation, publication,and/or use of “imbedded Shortcodes,” as defined herein. Such imbeddedShortcodes may be used in lieu of or in connection with associated full,complete, longer names, words, keywords, URL addresses, physicaladdresses, and the like, e.g., in digital, print, and/or visualenvironments in a manner that may be easy, unambiguous, intuitive, humanreadable and interpretable, and require no or limited additional spacefor the display of Shortcodes. The systems and methods described hereinmay be particularly helpful regarding physical and Internet locationnames and addresses and the use of structured Shortcodes, includingabbreviated URL addresses for Internet locations, and/or geographicidentifiers and traditional physical addresses, e.g., used on printedand digital maps. In addition, such systems and methods may also beapplied to virtually all other types of visual presentations orcommunications, e.g., through emails and one to one or one to many SMS,MMS, and/or other micro-blogging messaging services (e.g., Twitter), andall digital, print, and/or other visual media and advertising.

A globally recognized Shortcode system may be established that would behighly useful to both enable and encourage the use of standardized andhuman readable Shortcodes to reference physical and Internet addressesand locations in a standardized manner throughout the world. Yet atotally new global physical and Internet addressing and referencingsystem designed to replace existing systems would be difficult to createand unlikely to be adopted. What is needed is a globally recognizedShortcode addressing system that is simple, self-effecting, easy to useand remember, but that nevertheless maintains, integrates with, andleverages the various traditional street and other physical and Internetaddressing systems currently in use today throughout various portions ofthe world.

The systems and methods herein generally include imbedding, designation,integration, and/or display of Shortcodes within the confines of andintegrated with an associated full name or other more traditionaldisplay of the name, word, URL address, traditional street or otherlocation address, or other character string, including the names ofcities, states, streets, points of interest (POIs) on paper or digitalmaps, products or words, or URL addresses to which the associatedimbedded Shortcode relates. As used herein, such imbedded Shortcodes maybe referred to as an “Imbedded Shortcode” or an “ISC”. ImbeddedShortcodes may provide a link to existing names, addresses, etc., yethelp generate awareness of ISCs and provide a bridge to a new and moreefficient Shortcode and communication system designed to meet the needsof current and future technologies and usage trends.

There have been numerous efforts to develop shorthand characters andabbreviated communications, and enhance man-machine interfaces, personto person communications, and/or person to machine communications overseveral decades. In recent years, a few of these efforts have beendirected at the new digital age of devices and communications. A varietyof bar code, image readers, and other tagging and identification systemshave been developed and, when enabled with appropriate systems andequipment, may facilitate device to device communications. However, suchsystems provide nominal benefit to person to person communications orcommunications with devices that are not fully integrated or compatiblewith such capabilities. An advantage of the methods and systemsdescribed herein is that they may be easily combined with bar code,image readers, and/or other tagging and image identification systems toprovide human readable Shortcodes along with such machine readable tags,for cognitive associational advantages and/or to provide greaterinteroperability and portability of such systems in the absence of thespecialized devices capable of reading and interpreting such images.

The proliferation of short-messaging services (SMS) text services andcommunications has generated a great deal of spontaneous abbreviationsand Shortcodes for various words and phrases, but that spontaneity hasnot catalyzed any meaningful organized structure, system or method ofassociating such abbreviations or shortcodes with the underlying andassociated words, phrases or communications. There is some nominal defacto standardization among users, but they are highly localized andcolloquial, and there is no system to help publishers (writers) orreceivers (readers) learn, interpret, remember, and/or use suchabbreviations and Shortcodes. There have been some efforts to developsystems for automatically abbreviating words, phrases, sentences, andeven whole paragraphs, including numerous abbreviated or shorthandtyping systems. A major obstacle to the adoption of such systems,however, is the ability to find ways to educate users and/or communicatethe abbreviations or shorthand without tremendous effort to educateusers as to both the existence of such systems as well as the specificabbreviations and Shortcodes to be used with such systems. Any effortsto display both the full words associated with such abbreviations orShortcodes along with the associated Shortcodes is cumbersome, and therehas been no way to communicate both the shortcode/abbreviation and theassociated full word or name without presenting both theshortcode/abbreviation and the full word or name, which is contrary tothe primary desire to abbreviate the length of the communication. A fewsuch abbreviations and Shortcodes are used enough so as to generateadequate awareness and knowledge, but the process is extremelyinefficient and may impede the development and/or proliferation of anysuch system.

One of the key problems associated with any abbreviation or Shortcodeschema is the ability of users to become aware of, remember, andeffectively use such a system. For example, while it may be relativelyeasy for users to remember the various two letter state codes for thefifty (50) states of the United States, it is likely that many people inthe United States cannot remember all of such codes, and it is veryunlikely that people who are unfamiliar with the United States will beable to know, remember, or effectively use such codes. Similarly, anymethod of assigning Shortcodes to other terms, including cities,streets, POIs, etc. may be faced with two formidable challenges: 1)making users aware of both the presence and availability of any suchsystem, and 2) helping users to learn, remember, and use any suchShortcodes enough to make them easier, quicker, and more effective thanother alternatives.

The systems and methods disclosed herein may help accomplish theseobjectives, perhaps even to the point of causing users of variouscommunications and information systems to automatically and subliminallylearn and associate the appropriate imbedded Shortcode/abbreviation withthe associated full name so that the efficacies of Shortcodes andabbreviations may be more fully achieved on a much broader and massivescale throughout the world. In addition or alternatively, the systemsand methods disclosed herein may facilitate the adoption, use, andefficacy of new information acquisition, management, retrieval, anddistribution systems throughout the world, particularly those associatedwith micro-location information where the designation and determinationof locations may be an obstacle to providing appropriately localizedinformation.

In the context of text messaging and microblogging applications andservices, because of the strong desire to limit the number of charactersof messages, services have developed to convert traditional URLaddresses into extremely abbreviated URL addresses for inclusion in suchmessages. While such abbreviated URL addresses are short, they are nothuman readable or interpretable, and in fact merely provide a link to adatabase containing the longer URL address to which the abbreviatedaddress relates. They are typically composed of a series of randomcharacters, and they rarely communicate any meaningful information tothe end user. Instead, they are only intended to provide a shorterelectronic link or Internet address to more information. Nor are theydesigned or intended to be interoperable from the standpoint of the userwriting down, remembering, or inputting the shortened URL Address intoanother device of system. What is needed is a new form of shortaddresses, or Shortcodes, that are, typically and in most appropriatecircumstances, both human and computer friendly and readable and thatprovide users: a) with the ability to associate the characters in suchShortcodes, with the information to which such Shortcodes relate, evento the point of being able to interpret the Shortcodes, and b) with theability to remember, write down, communicate, input, or otherwise usethe Shortcodes in other devices or systems. Advantageously, the systemsand methods described herein may enable the communication of preciselocation information, including a hyperlink to an ISC Enabled URLShortened Address (as defined below) with less characters than wouldnormally be required to describe the address in a text message, withoutthe corresponding hyperlink, thereby effectively allowing twocommunications (the description and the hyperlink) to be included in themessage with less characters than would be required merely to identifythe precise location information. This may result in a significantreduction in the characters required to communicate the locationinformation and/or a corresponding increase in the characters availablefor other information.

In the context of location-based services, one of the most common piecesof information input into electronic devices are physical addresses andother locations, typically by a traditional keypad or keyboard input orthe selection of a series of numbers and letters to compose or selectnames of cities, states, other political subdivisions, street numbers,street names, postal codes, and/or other numbers related to traditionalstreet addresses. These are typically composed of countries, states,cities, boroughs, counties, townships, streets, street addresses,apartments, suite of office numbers, and postal codes. Inputting theseaddresses, either to select a destination or to designate a specificlocation for other purposes (e.g., a local search in a particular areaor near a specific location) may be cumbersome, time consuming,distracting, and ineffective. In the worst cases, it may create unsafesituations that affect public safety (e.g., distracted driving).

Regarding location-based services and addresses, various alternativelocation naming and designation systems have been proposed anddocumented. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,839,088, (“the '088 patent”)and U.S. Publication No. 2005/0283503, the entire disclosures of whichare expressly incorporated by reference herein, teach systems andmethods for establishing and using different types of abbreviatedaddresses e.g., a Proprietary Locational Address (“PLA”) and a UniversalLocational Address (“ULA”) as a simple, yet more truncated addressingsystem to supplement traditional street addresses and latitude longitudecoordinates. For purposes of the present application, PLAs and ULAs areconsidered to be one form of Shortcodes that may be within the penumbraof the systems and methods described herein and are thus alternativelyreferred to herein as such. These references disclose using variousShortcodes and include various examples of how these Shortcodes,together with related map codes and/or other components of PLAs and ULAsdescribed therein, may be included and/or displayed on paper and digitalmaps. In the examples included in these references, the Shortcodes maybe displayed on digital and printed maps with specific icons or otheridentifiers prior to such Shortcodes to designate that the subsequentcharacter string constitutes a PLA or ULA for various locations or POIsalong with the associated full, traditional name of the POI. Suchpresentation may include additional imagery or information on the faceof the digital or printed map, which may take up space in thepresentation and therefore may reduce the available space for otherinformation desired to be presented on the map. In the context of thelimited space available on a map, including both the full name and thecorresponding Shortcode for every city, state, street, and/or POI may beimpractical or create ambiguity, confusion, and/or map clutter.

One of the problems regarding potential ambiguity is whether a specificShortcode is associated with a particular full name, and whether thatspecific Shortcode is associated with a particular point or geographicfeature. It would be easy to associate a full name with a particular POIor feature and incorrectly associate the corresponding Shortcode with adifferent (and incorrect) point or feature. Cartographers andprogrammers desiring to display and use Shortcodes on maps are thereforeforced to consider the advantages and disadvantages of including theseShortcodes as well as any flag, trigger, or other indicator used toidentify the Shortcode. These considerations may be a significantimpediment to the adoption and use of Shortcodes in physical and digitalmaps, thereby reducing their availability for use in mobile phones andportable devices where their use may enhance usability, efficiency andsafety.

Despite the proliferation of printed and digital maps, another problemassociated with the presentation of Shortcodes is that additional spaceon the map is required to display both the Shortcode and the associatedname of the feature, again resulting in potential confusion, ambiguity,and/or map clutter. Yet for Shortcodes to be effective, it is usefulthat these codes be displayed visually so that users may see, interpret,use, and/or potentially learn and remember them for future use with theinitial or other devices and services.

A few unique features of digital maps are becoming more prevalently usedover mobile phones, online, and with various electronic devices such asPNDs. For example, digital maps typically work at substantiallydifferent scales (e.g., zoomed in and zoomed out) ranging from a view ofthe entire globe or country (e.g., Russia) to a view of a few houses ona street. A paradox of this substantial variance in scaling (which alsoapplies to differently scaled printed maps except for the absence of thevariable scaling capabilities) is that, the more land mass that is shownon the map, the more information there is to present, but the spaceavailable to present the information is less. In addition, satelliteimagery is now readily available and thus individual houses, buildings,and virtually unlimited features are often displayed through theseimages, increasing the number of human identifiable featuresexponentially. Efforts to label, identify, or provide additionalinformation about these numerous features may conflict with the spaceavailable to display any name, link, or Shortcode, further impeding theuse of names and Shortcodes. Certain information is generally presented,e.g., that is more critical to the overall presentation of the map,thereby leaving little room for less critical names, Shortcodes, and/orother designators.

Reduced font sizes may only go so far to increase the number of namesthat may be presented on a map as there are physical limitations to theuser's ability to read and interpret names of infinitely diminishingfont sizes. There is simply a point where users cannot physically seeand read all of the information desired to be presented. Traditional mapmaking and cartography dealt with these issues in various ways despitethe confines of printed maps. In contrast, digital map presentationstypically have the ability to dynamically display more or lessinformation and/or names, e.g., for countries, states, cities, POIs,streets, etc., in different sizes at different scales, e.g., asdetermined by the designers of the system and/or selected by the users.Yet these problems remain for digital maps, and in fact may beexacerbated because of the need to be able to adjust the scale anddisplay dynamically as the user or program changes the scale of thepresentation.

Another unique capability of digital maps is the ability to provideinteractive information on demand (e.g., displaying a full name or otherinformation in an information box that pops up as a user selects a POI),thereby making it more advantageous to display an abbreviated referenceor Shortcode that may easily be expanded to the full name if so desiredby the users. Yet this capability has its limitations and obstacles ifdigital map providers try to imbed links or shortcodes for millions ofmap features that may be shown at various scales.

Unlike the physical limitations on font size and readability, some orall users may have a virtually unlimited capability to learn andremember relevant names, Shortcodes, and particularly ImbeddedShortcodes (or “ISCs”), as described herein, for those places, names,features, and/or products that are more important and/or relevant tothem, frequently used, or otherwise memorable. It is possible that, byleveraging the users' ability to see, learn, and recall ISCs,presentation systems may be designed and operated that are moreeffective at conveying substantially more information, or, at the veryleast, including Shortcodes and abbreviated designators that link tomore information than is currently possible without the use of suchISCs. As discussed below, one advantage of ISCs is the visualpresentation of a Shortcode as part of and integrated with theassociated full name, thereby facilitating the visualization of the ISCsalong with the full associated name, providing memory and recalladvantages.

Despite the proliferation of printed and digital maps and the capabilityof using Shortcodes and abbreviations such as PLAs, no one has devised asystem or method for displaying such Shortcodes and abbreviationstogether with the associated full names in a manner that doesn't requireadditional space, add to map clutter, and/or create at least thepossibility of erroneously associating a Shortcode or abbreviation withthe wrong full name, feature, or POI. What is needed in connection withthe use and display of Shortcodes in connection with paper and digitalmaps and other printed or visual materials is a way to minimize thesize, area, or “real estate” required to include and display theShortcode in an unambiguous way along with the associated full name inorder to reduce the area required to display the Shortcode and increasethe available area for other information, reduce map clutter andconfusion, and/or generally communicate the availability, identity, andcontent of Shortcodes in an intuitive and effective way with nominalspace and clutter.

In addition to the need for a more abbreviated and intuitive method ofcreating, using, and displaying Shortcodes in connection with LBSservices and paper maps, there is a similar need for providing a moreabbreviated and intuitive method of creating, using, and displayingShortcodes in connection with others types of communications and relatedvisual displays of other types of advertising, displays, presentations,and communications, including internet keywords, personal, business, orproduct names, concepts, and even ordinary and common words and othercommunications in the growing number of short and abbreviated e-mail,tweets, bulletin boards, notes on walls in Facebook, and numerous othershort messages.

While the need for Shortcodes is evident in the examples provided, thereis perhaps even more need when the full names of cities, streets, POIs,and other locations are presented in languages that are not native tothe user. In such situations, Shortcodes may be substantially better andeasier than the associated full names for the user because they areshorter and easier to read, remember, write down, communicate verbally,or perhaps input into a computer or other electronic device. However,presenting a map with only Shortcodes may not provide enough informationand/or be effective for users who do not want or need to use Shortcodes.

Similar to providing ISCs or Shortcodes in printed and digital maps,there may be similar advantages to using ISCs in Internet URL addresses,e.g., to reference specific Internet and/or physical locations in a morehuman readable way. An Internet URL (Uniform Resource Locator) addressspecifies precise links to more information, images, or other content onthe Internet. Since 2001, there have been numerous URL shorteningservices, (collectively “URL Address Shorteners”) (e.g., tinyurl.com andbit.ly) that provide shortened URL addresses for Internet locations(“Shortened URL Addresses”). Today, Internet users may click onShortened URL Addresses billions of times every month. However, theseShortened URL Addresses are typically random character strings that areused as key references to a database that contains a long associated URLstring. Although some Shortened URL Addresses for Internet addresses arecomposed of words or phrases designed to be human readable, they aremerely associated with the full URL via a database look-up. As such,they generally do not facilitate an end user interpreting and/orunderstanding the information underlying the Shortened URL Address fromthe Shortened URL Address itself. Nor do these Shortened URL Addressesprovide any information that may be used outside of the Internet URLsystem, i.e., linking to the specific website or Internet pagereferenced by the Shortened URL Address.

One of the advantages of using ISCs and their related Shortcodes inShortened URL Addresses for both Internet addresses and physicaladdresses is that Shortened URL Addresses including ISCs are both humanreadable and interpretable. This allows ISC imbedded messages to beoperable across heterogeneous systems at multiple levels. For example,an ISC-enabled Shortened URL Address representing a physical addressutilizing ISCs may provide optimum features and functionality when sentor received by an ISC-enabled program (e.g., additional information,ability to display either the Shortcode or the full associated names,and/or other functionality). However, even in the absence of anISC-enabled sending or receiving program, the ISC-Enabled Shortened URLAddress is nevertheless functional and helpful by a sending or receivingprogram that merely allows the user to access the Internet through theimbedded hyperlink including the ISC-enabled Shortened URL Address toobtain additional information and services related to that location.Further, even if a receiving program does not allow the ability to hyperlink to an Internet location, the receiver may easily manually input theShortened URL Address into an ISC-Enabled or non-ISC-Enabled device(e.g., a PND) to designate the location referenced in the Shortened URLAddress or to visit the Internet location referenced by the ShortenedURL Address. Finally, in the event that the user cannot use any of theforegoing options, the ISC-Enabled Shortened URL Address for a typicalstreet address is human readable and interpretable in many cases. Insuch instances, the ISC-Enabled Shortened URL Address may be usedwithout the assistance of any device.

Advantageously, ISCs may also be used for various components of names orinformation that are normally associated together, for example, physicaland mailing addresses (e.g., the country, state/province, city/town,road, street no., etc.), and magazines (e.g., the magazine title, date,issue, page no., etc.). Such information represented by the ISCs may begenerally easily discernable by most viewers through the use ofstandardized and structured abbreviations, rules, and algorithms and theimbedding of ISCs in the associated full names. This allows theseShortened URL Addresses and ISCs to indicate millions of physicaladdresses, Internet addresses, or pages in magazines in an abbreviatedmanner yet in a way that is repeatable, interpretable, memorable, andmore easily and readily associated with the corresponding full names orother terms.

In accordance with one embodiment, a system and method are provided forcreating and/or registering an imbedded Shortcode (ISC) for anassociated word or words. For example, a descriptor, identifier, orother term may be commonly used to identify an item of interest (i.e.,its “full name”) and an ISC and corresponding Shortcode may be uniquelyidentified with the full name within an ISC database. The Shortcode maybe visually identified when the full name is displayed by the ISC, whichis select characters (e.g., alphabetic letters) of the full name thatare visually distinguished from the other characters of the full name(i.e., the ISC will include less than all of the characters of the fullname). Thus, subsequent reference to the associated full name and itsitem of interest may be identified simply by using the Shortcode insteadof the full name. For example, a user of an electronic device mayobserve the full name with the ISC in a visual display, and sequentiallyenter the characters of the Shortcode identified by the ISC into theelectronic device to obtain additional information regarding the item ofinterest.

In exemplary embodiments, the item of interest may be a geographicentity, such as a country, city, or state, or other geographic place orfeature; a brand name, associated with one or more physical locations orwithout physical locations; a name of a print or digitally displayedpublication, book, article, image, or other component of printedmaterials; a domain name; a person; a song or other audio recording, analbum, a speech, a video or other digital communication; and the like.

The Shortcode identified by the ISC may be as few as two or threecharacters (e.g., alphabetical letters or alphanumeric characters),while the full name includes more characters than the Shortcode. In anexemplary embodiment, the Shortcode may include a first letter of thefull name and less than all of the remaining letters of the full name,the first two letters of the full name and less than all of theremaining letters of the full name, and the like.

In one embodiment, an ISC and associated Shortcode may be assigned toeach full name in the ISC database by the manager of the ISC database.Alternatively, parties having an interest in items of interest maypropose respective ISCs and Shortcodes for the full names of the items.The ISC database manager may review the proposed ISCs and Shortcodes andensure that they do not conflict with others in the ISC database.Alternatively, the ISC database manager may provide a voting system bywhich interested parties may vote for ISCs and Shortcodes to associatewith respective full names and/or a feedback system may be used toselect ISCs and Shortcodes based on feedback, e.g., from usersindicating whether the particular ISCs and Shortcodes are user friendlyand/or commonly used.

In one method, the ISC database manager may resolve registered imbeddedShortcodes within the ISC database on a real-time basis. For example,any party may request a particular ISC and Shortcode to be uniquelyassociated with a particular full name within the database. The item ofinterest identified by the full name and/or information regarding theitem may be included in the database. For example, where the item ofinterest is a document, article, recording, video, or other electronicmedia, the ISC database may include a centralized or distributed digitalclearinghouse or other storage for storing a copy of the item.Alternatively, the ISC database may include a link to such items so thatthey may be provided to interested users. All or a portion of thecentralized storage or clearinghouse may be retained in the ISC databaseand/or may be updated periodically or on demand from the centralizedstorage.

Optionally, in another method, the ISC database may combine Shortcodesfrom imbedded Shortcodes in a hierarchical order. For example, a fullname may include different levels of identifiers for an item ofinterest, e.g., a location may be identified by its street address, thencity, then state. The full name displayed on a visual display mayinclude imbedded Shortcodes for each level included in the displayedfull name. Subsequently, the item of interest may be succinctly yetprecisely referenced by inputting the Shortcodes for each level of thefull name to facilitate retrieving information about the item.

Once assigned, a full name with its ISC may be displayed in a variety ofmedia, e.g., on print or other static displays, such as maps,billboards, magazines, advertising materials, and the like, or onelectronic displays, e.g., displays of electronic devices, televisions,and the like, to encourage use of the associated Shortcode.

For example, in accordance with another embodiment, a method is providedfor accessing content related to an item of interest, which includesobserving a display including a full name identifying an item ofinterest, the full name including an imbedded Shortcode defined by lessthan all of the characters of the full name; inputting the characters ofthe Shortcode defined by the imbedded Shortcode into an electronicdevice; and receiving on the electronic device additional informationregarding the item of interest.

In accordance with another embodiment, a method is provided fordisplaying a Shortcode that includes visually displaying a full name fora location or other item of interest, the visual display including animbedded Shortcode defined by less than all of the characters of thefull name. For example, the visual display may display the imbeddedShortcode by visually distinguishing the characters of the Shortcodefrom the remaining characters of the full name. For example, thecharacters of the imbedded Shortcode may be in a different font orstyle, e.g., italicized, underlined, bolded, and the like, from theremaining characters in the full name. Thereafter, a person interestedin accessing additional information regarding the location or other itemof interest may enter the characters of the Shortcode into an electronicdevice to obtain additional information.

In an exemplary embodiment, the electronic device may be a mobile phone,personal navigation device, or other relatively small device, e.g.,having a limited size keypad or other input mechanism. For example, thefull name with imbedded Shortcode may be displayed on the electronicdevice's own display, on an external video display, e.g., on atelevision or computer monitor, on a printed medium, and the like.

In accordance with still another embodiment, a method is provided forcreating a hierarchical, human readable address for locations. Theaddress may include less than all of the characters of the full name ofthe location, e.g., by combining standardized Shortcodes forgeopolitical subdivisions of the location, standardized or otherShortcodes for a street name of the location, and any alphanumericcomponent of the street address of the location. In an exemplaryembodiment, the street name Shortcode may be created automatically by analgorithm of the ISC database, or otherwise created similar to themethods described elsewhere herein. The street name Shortcode may bechecked for uniqueness within the relevant geopolitical subdivisions,e.g., to avoid duplicates. The alphanumeric component may be thealphanumeric component of the traditional street address and/or a suite,building, hall, office, etc. of the location.

For example, a Shortcode for a full name (in this case, street address),such as 2102 Business Center Drive, Irvine, Calif., Suite 130 may beus.ca.irv.2010BCD130, and the full name with imbedded Shortcode may be2102 Business Center Drive, Irvine, Calif., Suite 130. The full namewith ISC may be displayed on maps or other visual displays or may simplybe used to facilitate interfacing with an electronic device.

In accordance with yet another embodiment, a method is provided forcreating unique and special characters that may be selected directly andcopied from any program to another with the special characters remainingintact. For example, separate characters may be identified within aprogram for a letter that is part of an imbedded Shortcode and the sameletter that is not. For example, with McDonalds, the label of theletters for M, c and D may be special characters different than regulara M, c, and D (such as the second “d” in McDonalds), which mayfacilitate storing the associated Shortcode and/or ISC within the ISCdatabase.

In accordance with still another embodiment, a system and method areprovided for combining one or more Shortcodes with a search term and/orcommand. For example, the ISC database may associate ISCs with searchterms and/or commands such that , when certain Shortcodes defined by theISCs are input into an electronic device, the electronic device or aremote device communicating with the electronic device may automaticallyexecute associated searches or commands. For example, the system ormethod may combine hierarchical Shortcodes with a search term in amanner that both designates a physical location, and requests a searchfor items related to the search term at or near the designated location.

Optionally, in accordance with another embodiment, when a Shortcode isinput into an electronic device, the electronic device may automaticallyprovide additional context to disambiguate the Shortcode. For example,the electronic device may automatically add a date and time, a currentlocation of the electronic device, data from user preferences or historystored in memory of the electronic device, and the like to theShortcode. The electronic device may then transmit the Shortcode andadded information via an interface to a remote device to obtaininformation regarding an item associated with the Shortcode that alsosatisfies the added information.

In accordance with still another embodiment, a user interface may beprovided on an electronic device that includes an input interface, e.g.,a keypad and/or display, that segments various components of relatedShortcodes on the device's display, e.g., to displays all or multiplepossible combinations of the designated Shortcodes to allow the user toselect the precise associated words intended by the Shortcode.

In accordance with yet another embodiment, a system and method foraccessing information may be provided that includes an ISC database thatassociates multiple ISCs and Shortcodes with the same destination orother item of interest. The multiple ISCs and Shortcodes may be providedto different parties, e.g., to allow tracking the origin of thesubsequent use of the Shortcode. For example, a Shortcode for SanFrancisco's Golden Gate Bridge may be sfmap.GGBridge, while another mapmay display SanFranMap.GGBridge. When a user subsequently inputs eitherShortcode into an electronic device, the ISC database may point to thesame item of interest, but may then track which map was used ororiginated the inquiry. Optionally, the Shortcode may result in the ISCdatabase providing unique content based on the map used (e.g.,information regarding the provider of the map over others). In additionor alternatively, the Shortcode may allow tracking, accounting forand/or incentivizing a source of the Shortcode (e.g., the provider ofthe map).

Thus, the systems and methods herein may reduce the number of charactersneeded to succinctly yet precisely identify or reference longerassociated full names, particularly over mobile devices orsized-constrained communications. In addition, the ability to displayboth imbedded Shortcodes and their respective full names with noincrease in the number of characters or clutter in a visual display andwith no ambiguity regarding the connection between the full names andthe associated imbedded Shortcodes.

For example, such Shortcodes may facilitate short messaging servicessuch as Twitter, mobile displays, social network and other posts, blogsand communications, e.g., on portable, personal navigation devices. Inaddition, such Shortcodes may enhance information provided on maps,where every city and feature identified on the map may include animbedded Shortcode to designate the location as a destination or toconnect to information or services related to the destination.

Other aspects and features of the need for and use of the presentinvention will become apparent from consideration of the followingdescription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings illustrate exemplary embodiments of the invention, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a diagram, showing component systems and relevant participantsand relationships related to the determination, creation, curation,designation, registration, management, dissemination, display, use,and/or tracking of ISCs and related systems, methods and processes thatmay be included in an exemplary embodiment of an ISC System.

FIGS. 2A-2D are exemplary images of digital maps that may be displayedby an exemplary system including ISC capabilities (identified as GPAEarth), using Google Application Programming Interfaces. FIG. 2Aillustrates the use of exemplary Shortcodes to designate and referencethe country (China/CN), city (Beijing/BJ), district (Dongcheng/DNG) andlocation name (ForbiddenCity/FBDC). It also demonstrates the display ofan ISC of FBDC for ForbiddenCity (“ForbiddenCity”). FIG. 2B illustratesexemplary ISCs imbedded in the associated full names for threelocations: the District of Dongcheng (DNG), the Dongsishitiao Bridge(DNGSB), and the District of Chaoyang (CHYN). In addition, one type of aShortcode, referred to as a GPA Address by the GPA Earth system, usingthe ISCs for China, Beijing, and each of these locations/districts areillustrated. They are: CN.BJ.DNG (the District of Dongcheng),CN.BJ.DNG.DNGBR (the Dongsishitiao Bridge), and CN.BJ.DNG.CHYN (theDistrict of Chaoyang). FIG. 2C illustrates an exemplary method to inputor select Shortcodes from ISCs into a website optimized for viewing on amobile phone in order to select a location with minimal input, and FIG.2D illustrates exemplary outputs from such a method with ISCs for theDistrict of Dongcheng (DNG) and the District of Chaoyang (CHYN).

FIGS. 3A-3C are exemplary images of digital maps and a correspondingsatellite image showing a few POIs that may be displayed using systemsand methods herein, e.g., based images from Google Maps that may beaccessed through an Internet browser. FIG. 3A illustrates theconventional presentation of a few location names on a digital map,e.g., by Google. It should be noted that the area where these locationnames are displayed includes five 10-story office buildings with dozensof tenants, so it would be extremely difficult to display all of thenames of the companies operating within this area. FIG. 3B and 3C are anexemplary images of digital maps from a system that includes ISCs topresent both the location names and the Shortcode for such locations.Note that the images also present Shortcodes for the politicalsubdivisions represented by the area shown on the maps (in this caseUnited States (US), California (CA), and Newport Beach (NB)). FIG. 3Cshows the ability of a user to obtain expanded information regarding allof such political subdivisions, including the presentation of theappropriate ISCs.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are exemplary images of digital maps that may bepresented on web pages using the systems and methods herein, showing thedisplay of an ISC for a specific commercial establishment in ManhattanBeach, Calif. FIG. 4A illustrates the use of the ISCs for Shortcodes US,CA, MB and SKZ for United States, California, Manhattan Beach, andSharkeez, respectively, as well as an exemplary combined Shortcode forthis location, US.CA.MB.SKZ. FIG. 4B illustrates the provision ofadditional information for any ISC (e.g., Manhattan Beach), or locationutilizing ISCs, including directions to/from the location, obtainingadditional information, using, and forwarding the ISCs via email or textmessaging, etc.

FIGS. 5A-5C are exemplary screen shots of various applications utilizingan example of an ISC and Shortcodes, in this case GPA Addresses, inpublishing/sending and reading/receiving programs, that contain softwarecodes proving ISC functionality, including a word processing program,e-mail program, and web-based e-mail application. FIGS. 5A-5C providevarious examples of use and functionality that may utilize ISCs andtheir corresponding Shortcodes and associated full names in ways thatfacilitate the use of ISCs and their components by publishers andreceivers.

FIGS. 6A-6C are images of illustrative publications and printedmaterials illustrating the use of ISCs in advertisements, coupons, andarticles included in printed publications. FIG. 6A illustrates how ISCsmay be used for name, issue, dates, page numbers, articles, and/orsubjects (e.g., movies) in a magazine—in this case the Feb. 5, 2010issue of Entertainment Week. FIG. 6B illustrates how an ISC may be usedin the name and issue of a publication as well as the resultingassociated Shortcodes, for a publication entitled Hotel Coupon Guide.FIG. 6C illustrates how ICSs may be used for geographic names, pagereferences, and coupon references relating to one of theadvertisers/coupons included in the Hotel Coupon Guide publication ofFIG. 6B, as well as their ISC and associated Shortcodes.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are sample screen shots of an email/text messagecommunication program, in this case Twitter, including features of thesystems and methods herein. These screenshots illustrate the possibleuse of ISCs in references to specific locations and the ability of ISCenabled programs to assist users in typing and selecting ISCs. Thesending agent (FIG. 7A) may recognize the beginning of an ISC andauto-complete and/or spell check the name reference, and/or ifambiguous, present a series of locations and associated ISCs relevant tothe user for the user to select the desired location, and the Shortcodeor ISC may be automatically imbedded in the message sent by the user.Similarly, the receiving agent (FIG. 7B) may display the ISC and displayto the receiver a variety of information regarding that location. Boththe sending agent and the receiving agent may be connected to a serverand database that is kept current on a real-time basis in order toensure that the ISCs and related information are current.

FIGS. 8A and 8B are screenshots of a sample web-enabled physical addressshortener that automatically converts full, traditional street addressesin any format for any location in the world into shorter addresses andURL strings and demonstrates how Shortcodes and ISCs may be used in fulladdresses to imbed standardized abbreviated addresses or Shortcodes intothe full addresses and how the Shortcodes may also be included in theshortened URL addresses in a manner that is shorter, computer readable,and human readable and friendly. FIG. 9 is a schematic drawing showing anetwork architecture providing an exemplary embodiment of a system forregistering and using ISCs according to the systems and methods herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Imbedded Shortcode Designation

As explained above, one of the impediments to the adoption of geographicand other Shortcodes (e.g., the PLAs taught in the referencesincorporated by reference herein or shortened URL addresses or strings)is the additional space and/or characters required to designate anddisplay Shortcodes.

The systems and methods described herein generally involve thepresentation of standardized Shortcodes and shortened URL addresses orstrings for physical addresses and Internet addresses, which may befurther enhanced by the simultaneous presentation of both a Shortcodeand a full name by designating the characters in the associated fullname that constitute the Shortcode in such a way that the Shortcode maybe efficiently imbedded and identified within the presentation anddisplay of the associated full name. For example, the Shortcode DNGSBRfor the Dongsishitiao Bridge in the Dongcheng District of Beijing,China, may be imbedded and designated entirely within the associatedname Dongsishitiao Bridge as follows: Dongsishitiao Bridge, or anysimilar presentation that identified the Shortcode DNGBR as thecharacters in the full name that constitute the Shortcode. The advantageof this solution is that it requires virtually no additional space on aprinted or digital map or other image or display beyond the spaceallocated to the associated full name, yet it clearly designates andassociates both the Shortcode and the associated full name, andunambiguously associates the Shortcode with the appropriate geographicname or feature (in this case for a bridge). Advantageously, this uniquepresentation may also provide other advantages. Imbedding the Shortcodesin the associated name requires only one “insertion” or label for thefeatures, in a map, and scaling of the full name for size anddetermining inclusion of the name for various map scales mayautomatically accomplish the scaling, sizing, and inclusion of theImbedded Shortcodes. It is also therefore not necessary to makedeterminations as to when to omit Shortcodes. ISCs are likely to beremembered by users with visual cues and imagery because the ISCs areimbedded visually into the full name, so users who recall visually thefull name may automatically recall the Imbedded Shortcode. Consistentlydisplaying ISCs may also be used as a reminder and effectivecommunication to viewers as to the availability of ISCs.

The systems and methods herein may include various elements, includingthe following:

-   -   a) systems and methods and rules for the creation of ISCs        designed to ensure that ISCs: i) are either unique or otherwise        unambiguously interpretable within the relevant set of locations        or other designated names, and ii) meet the requirements of and        are capable of being imbedded and designated within the        associated full name in accordance with the concepts described        herein. The creation of ISCs may be accomplished in a        centralized or de-centralized manner through a registration        process, and ISCs may be created on a one by one, case by case        basis or en masse for multiple associated names (e.g., all of        the cities in California) by applying scripts, programs, and        database languages and capabilities to existing databases of        associated names. Local user input and feedback may also be        incorporated into these methods and systems, which may be        designed to optimize the user of ISCs at local, regional,        national and international levels;    -   b) a system and method for creating and automatically inputting,        creating, storing, managing, referencing, manipulating,        checking, copying, displaying, and/or otherwise using ISCs in        computer software and programs, online and mobile Internet        browsers and other systems, architectures and operating systems,        including programming languages, navigation, database, mapping,        word processing, messaging, chat/instant messaging, spreadsheet,        and other programs in order to provide interoperability across        heterogeneous systems, applications and programs to enable and        meet the needs and requirements of the systems and methods        described herein, including the possible creation of plug-ins,        software agents or modules, and/or new and alternative character        sets and character repertoires with markers or other imbedded        characteristics and mechanisms, properties and specifications        necessary to efficiently and uniformly input, create, store,        manage, reference, manipulate, check, copy, display, and/or        otherwise use ISCs. For example, these programs may need to be        enabled to automatically and quickly and efficiently accept,        store, copy, and alternatively present full names and ISCs by        using new characters with integrated, human readable and        imbedded markers as if they were just additional characters.        This may be preferable to a system that requires computer coding        and programming to display ISCs by combining the Shortcode and        the associated name and adding the appropriate markers in order        to display the ISC. In other words, creating and using an        alternative character set may enable ISCs to be more readily and        easily created, typed, copied, stored, and displayed as a single        entry; and    -   c) various systems and methods of alternatively using,        displaying, encoding, and decoding Shortcodes and their        corresponding associated full names along with the ISCs within        the associated full names in a manner that may require no or        nominal additional space, automatically and unambiguously        associate the ISCs with their associated full names and the        locations or other features associated with the full names so as        to be recognized by users in a way that may make the users aware        of ISCs and help them remember specific ISCs for future use.

Imbedded Shortcode Rules and Systems

While there may be numerous alternative rules, conventions, methods, andsystems to govern the creation and use of ISCs, certain rules,conventions, methods and systems are helpful to ensure that ISCs may beeffectively imbedded and displayed within the associated full name. Forexample, it may be advantageous if each Shortcode is composed solely ofa series of letters that are contained within the full correspondingcity, state, street, POI, feature, product, newspaper or magazine name,or other name and that such letters appear in the same order as suchletters appear in the full name.

Display of Imbedded Shortcodes

The following examples illustrate various methods of imbedding anddisplaying different examples of ISCs for both physical locations,addresses, and other names. For ease and simplicity, the illustratedexamples include geographic locations, but these methods may applyequally to any other use of Imbedded Shortcodes:

Full Name or Term Shortcode Imbedded Shortcode (ISC) Oriental PearlTower CN.SH.HNG.OPT China, Shanghai, Hongkou, Hongkou, Shanghai OrientalPearl Tower China Dongcheng, Beijing CN.BJ.DNG Dongcheng, Beijing ChinaChina Forbidden City CN.BJ.DNG.FBDC Forbidden City Dongcheng, BeijingDongcheng, Beijing China China Dongsishitiao Bridge CN.BJ.DNG.DNGSBDongsishitiao Bridge Dongcheng, Beijing Dongcheng, Beijing China ChinaSharkeez Cantina US.CA.MB.SKZ Sharkeez Cantina 3801 Highland Avenue 3801Highland Avenue Manhattan Beach Manhattan Beach California CaliforniaUnited States United States 90266 90266 Zombieland Review EW.ZlandZombieland Review Entertainment Week Or Entertainment Week 2.5.2010EW.2.5.10.p53.Zland 2.5.2010 Page 53 Page 53 Hotel Coupon GuideHCG.WS2010.P9.C15 Hotel Coupon Guide Winter/Spring 2010 Winter/Spring2010 Page 9 Page 9 Coupon 15 Coupon 15 Prego Ristorante US.CA.NB.PREGOPrego Ristorante 18433 Von Karman Ave. 18433 Von Karman Ave. NewportBeach, CA 92612 N ewport B each US Ca lifornia U nited S tates MuskogeeMSKG Muskogee Oklahoma OK Oklahoma Muskogee, Oklahoma MSK.OG Muskogee,Oklahoma Orange County Dry Cleaning OCCleaning Orange County DryCleaning Hal's Boat Repair Hals Hal's Boat Repair Joe's American Bar andGrill JBar Joe's American Bar and Grill 1743 North Hamilton Drive1743NHD 1743 North Hamilton Drive Orange County Dry Cleaning OCCleaningO range C ounty Dry Cleaning Orange County Dry Cleaning OCCleaning Orange C ounty Dry Cleaning Orange County Dry Cleaning OCCleaning O rangeC ounty Dry Cleaning (with the letters of the ISC in a different colorthan the other letters) Orange County Dry Cleaning OCCleaning OrangeCounty Dry Cleaning Ozarks Flying Service FLY Ozarks Fly ing ServiceOzarks Flying Service FLY Ozarks Fly ing Service New Toyota Camry NewCamry New Toyota Camry Springfield, Missouri SPFD.MO Sp ring f iel d , Miss o uri 1743 North Hamilton Drive, US.MO.SPFD.1743NHD.64803 1743 NorthHamilton Drive, Springfield, Missouri 64803 Springfield, Missouri 64803United States United States

The foregoing descriptions and examples are illustrative of alternativeuses and methods, but there are numerous other cases and implementationswhere the concepts described herein may be beneficial.

EXAMPLES

The following examples indicate some of the possible uses and/oralternative features of the concepts described herein.

Example 1

A person getting ready to take a walking tour of an area of Shanghai,China may look at one or more maps and see numerous ISCs for severalfeatures or attractions, all with rather long and unfamiliar names, andrather than inputting the full length of all of those names into theirdevice to create a walking itinerary for the trip, the person may merelyinput the indicated Shortcodes imbedded in the associated full names ofthe maps to designate the desired locations. In these situations, theuse of ISCs may reduce the number of required keystrokes by an order ofmagnitude. For example, in the area in Beijing, China indicated on FIGS.2A-2D, the person may look at the map in FIG. 2B and then merely inputan itinerary of “CN.BJ.FBDC, DNG, CHYN” into his or her phone todesignate the areas/locations to visit, perhaps using the iPhone as anavigation tool.

Example 2

The importance of interoperability of ISCs, particularly thoseassociated with the transition from paper maps to digital maps anddigital navigation devices may be demonstrated by the use of ISCs forvirtually every city and every POI on tourism maps for large areas(e.g., each of the states in the U.S.). States or other responsibleparties may designate preferred Shortcodes for cities and other POIs,easily print ISCs on various paper and digital maps or otherwise ensurethat various digital devices and services displayed such ISCs. Over timepeople who use those maps may begin to recall the Shortcodes for thosecities, POIs, etc. on their own, perhaps without reference to the maps.People who are unfamiliar with the areas, or perhaps who do not speakthe native language as their primary language and therefore find thenames difficult to remember and communicate, may find ISCs Shortcodessubstantially easier to communicate, remember, write down, input into avehicle or personal navigation device, or otherwise use ISCs. Thus,dozens or hundreds of Shortcodes may be designated and effectivelydisplayed and communicated on paper maps without any increase in mapclutter or degradation of the map.

Example 3

It is possible that television, magazine, newspaper, billboard and evenradio advertising (with associated visual displays) may utilize ISCs bydisplaying keywords, destinations, and/or other terms in the mannerdescribed and demonstrated herein, thereby helping the viewers of suchmessaging remember a short sequence of letters and numbers, which theuser may use to quickly and unambiguously navigate to, obtaininformation about, or otherwise designate a product, brand, etc. It ispossible that different ISCs may be used for the same associated fullname of a product in different publications in order to track andmonitor the origin and source of advertising giving rise to the use ofsuch Shortcodes for the same full name. It is further possible that bypromoting unique ISCs, advertisers and marketers may gain advantagesbecause of the ease of using Shortcodes to designate locations,products, and services, and/or by reinforcing and building continued andrepetitive awareness of Shortcodes by imbedding such Shortcodes throughISCs in virtually all of the displays and visual presentations of theirproducts and brands.

Example 4

Publishing and receiving agents, plug-in, and other programs may beenabled to recognize and interpret Shortcodes and/or names withcorresponding ISCs and Shortcodes and automatically display associatedfull names and/or ISCs, in part based on information and other factorsdeterminable by the context of the user or usage associated with thepublisher or receiver of the message including the ISC. For example, auser may type the name “Buckingham Palace” into a word processingprogram, text messaging, or email publishing program, and the system mayautomatically recognize that Buckingham Palace is an associated name foran ISC and therefore automatically input (or prompt for the userselection to input) the ISC (e.g., Buckingham Palace) or Shortcode(e.g., Palace) in lieu of the full associated name. Similarly, thesystem may automatically input the full, traditional street address forthat specific location with the ISCs indicated therein. A receivingagent receiving any such message with a Shortcode or ISC may alsoautomatically expand the Shortcode into a full address or associatedname with the ISC indicated therein. In addition, the publishing agentmay utilize user designated preferences or the context of the usage(e.g., the device being used, the known location or direction of travelof the user, time of day, past usage patterns of the user, or the natureof the information represented by the ISC) to abbreviate, and displaythe ISC or Shortcode, as appropriate, and the receiving agent maysimilarly utilize such preferences and context of the user of usage tobetter meet the needs of the end users. Both publishing and receivingagents and programs may also provide parsing and disambiguationcapabilities based on a variety of databases, programs and systemsaffecting the use of ISCs, including systems that may provide ISC andShortcode auto-complete and spell-checking functionalities based onspecialized, customized, and hierarchically structured dictionaries orother features designed to accelerate the processing, interpretation,and disambiguation of ISCs or Shortcodes based on the context or otherinformation derived from the user.

Example 5

The methods and manners of assigning ISCs for maximum efficacy may beautomated through various rules designed to provide priority in thedetermination of Shortcodes that are compliant with the systems andmethods herein by considering various factors that may be indicative ofthe expected volume or nature of the anticipated uses by taking intoconsideration various factors, including the size and population ofcities, the frequency of city or street names within various politicalsubdivisions or across other political subdivisions. For example, MainSt. is a very common street name in the U.S. and thus might be assigneda standard ISC (e.g., MN) first across all jurisdictions in order toensure the availability of that Shortcode across all jurisdictions andto ensure that the ISC for a very common name (e.g., Main) was alsoavailable across all jurisdictions, thereby facilitating the use of theISC across multiple jurisdictions. This may be accomplished by empiricaldata collection on the number of states that have identical cities(e.g., Springfield) or the cities which have identical street names anddetermining through algorithms the optimal Shortcode assignment tomaximize the effectiveness of the system.

Example 6

It is possible that ISCs may be designed and used to create analternative form of identification and branding, governed by agreementsand limitations on the use by operators of search and communicationssystems and devices desiring to use ISCs whereby the various partiesassociated with names and ISCs have greater protection against confusingor infringing uses of similar ISCs, thereby maximizing or increasing theintangible value for such associated names and ISCs than they wouldotherwise have without such codes. For example, in the future, companiesand individuals may create brand and product names that are particularlyconducive to the use of clever, memorable, or otherwise beneficial ISCsand Shortcodes. General search engine companies, like Google, or morenarrowly focused search or information services may be required to agreeupon certain standards and protocols designed to facilitate the use andefficacy of ISC enabled searches over non-ISC enabled searches (e.g.,the prohibition of utilizing any ISC to trigger any search or navigationto anything other than the specific destination or name associated withsuch ISC). Another such provision may require such search engines toprovide specific or specialized traffic measurement, metrics andreporting on the presentation or use of ISCs and/or the associatedShortcodes by their systems and services.

Example 7

The use of ISCs may be particularly valuable in connection with listsand tables where space and brevity is important, especially where thereare repetitive uses of similar names. Consider the following tabledisplayed on a mobile phone with a very small and narrow screen sizethat provides a list of three relevant locations of Sammy's Camera andVideo and their street addresses to a person unfamiliar with the area,or perhaps even the English language:

With Imbedded Shortcodes With Imbedded Shortcodes Include in FullAddress Displayed Alone After the for Each Entry First Entry 1) Sammy'sCamera and Video 1) Sammy's Camera and Video 1234 North Hamilton Drive,1234 North Hamilton Drive Rancho Santa Fe, California Rancho Santa Fe,California United States 92748 United States 92748 2) Sammy's Camera andVideo 2) Sammys.4267NHD.RSF.CA.US 4267 North Hamilton Drive, 3)Sammys.4231MN.RSF.CA.US Rancho Santa Fe, California 4)Sammys.1821AVARTS.CC.CA.US United States 92758 5)Sammys.7454SMB.CC.CA.US 3) Sammy's Camera and Video 4231 Main St.,Rancho Santa Fe, California United States 92718 4) Sammy's Camera andVideo 1821 Avenue of the Arts, Century City, California, United States92648 5) Sammy's Camera and Video 7454 Santa Monica Blvd. Century City,California, United States 92615

The use of Shortcodes following the presentation of ISCs may requireless space, thereby enabling the listing of more locations andinformation to be communicated in any given area, and the display of theISCs may make it easier for the user to associate subsequent Shortcodeswith the associated full name of the store, street, city and state. Inthis case, the repetitive nature of the Shortcode may make it easy forthe user to focus on the differences in the Shortcodes that arerelevant, while at the same time being able to reference the ISC ifnecessary.

Example 8

ISCs may be assigned, used, and displayed alternatively and selectivelyto the public or more narrowly to specific users and user groups,thereby allowing different ISCs to be created and used by the generalpublic, governmental employees, private and commercial groups, and evenindividuals who designate their own ISCs for their own use within closedsystems that they have designated. The display and use of any such ISCsmay be limited to users who have provided a password or who areotherwise authorized or intended to have access to see and read and/oruse ISCs, thereby providing opportunities for enhancing privacy,anonymity, and/or ambiguity to those who are unauthorized to use anysuch ISCs.

Example 9

ISCs may be used at all levels of any abbreviation or shortcode schema,including extensions and abbreviations for virtual locations, products,generic terms, descriptors and similar references to components orfurther segmentations of names, products, locations, etc., includingalternative websites and URL addressing structures and solutions. Forexample, individuals and entities may establish their own ISCs forvarious physical or virtual (e.g., IP addresses of various Internetdevices) locations within their business, factory, property, plant,office or home, thereby facilitating the quick referencing ordesignation of such physical or digital locations with Shortcodes taughtby the use of ISCs.

Example 10

ISCs and Shortcodes may be used on any physical or electronic/digitaldisplay to provide an alternative or supplement to hyperlinks. Forexample, in digital maps where it is difficult to provide Internethyperlinks or other “live” links to all of the various cities, states,POIs, and other locations, names, and information displayed on the maps,ISC and Shortcodes may be used to provide a very efficient way for theuser to input into an alternative selection or input box a fewcharacters shown on the map from an ISC and automatically select, input,or find information about that particular location. This is particularlyhelpful on mobile phones, PNDs, and other small portable devices, wherethe resolution for selection of a particular label or tag by pointing atthe tag on a touch screen may not be practical due to screen size orother limitations. It may also be helpful where the ISC is originallyseen on a printed paper map and subsequently used to identify theparticular item of interest on a mobile phone or other digital device.For example, while viewing an image such as indicated on FIG. 2B, a usermay merely input DNG into the More Info selection box to find moreinformation about, link to, select, or otherwise designate the districtof Dongchen, or DNGBR to select information about Dongsishitiao Bridge.The methods, systems, and programs using such ISCs may advantageouslyinterpret such Imbedded Shortcodes solely with reference to the area orimage displayed on the map, thereby minimizing the characters requiredto uniquely select or designate a location with reference to suchdisplayed image. Yet such ISCs may work across all other systems whenappended to other, higher level identifiers to designate the image orarea or other context of the display or use of the ISC. This alternativemethod and system may require less resources and complexities thanhyperlinks and other methods of selecting images, locations, names,etc., particularly in the context of maps and other images, which maycontain numerous locations.

Example 11

ISCs may be designated for micro-locations at virtually any scale orlevel of precision. For example, a museum and its visitors may utilizeISCs in printed and digital materials, brochures, pamphlets, guidebooks,self-guided tours, etc. to designate various tours, locations, exhibits,sections of exhibits, or even items in exhibits and displays. These ISCsmay be used to designate Shortcodes that may be input into a mobilephone or other electronic device, either as a sole designator or perhapsas a series of designators used to create a chronology or itinerary fora visit to the museum, to create notes, logs, or journals of the itemsseen, or as abbreviated designators to look up additional informationabout one or more specific items in the exhibit. For example, a placardnext to the Paul Rondoley painting “September Morning Sunrise” at theOrlando Museum of Modern Art may easily include an ISC by displaying:September Morning Sunrise by Paul Rondoley so that a user could merelyinput SMS.PR into an electronic device (where the “Orlando Museum ofModern Art” had already been designated) to find additional informationabout this specific painting or refer someone else to this informationor the location of the painting, e.g., by sending them an email with theShortcode OMMA.SMS.PR. The recipient of such communication may use thisShortcode to navigate to or obtain more information about this painting.The receiving agent displaying the message may automatically display theentire full name and the ISC on the device as “September Morning Sunriseby Paul Rondoley at the Orlando Museum of Modern Art”.

Example 12

ISCs may be coordinated with other methods of displaying AlternativeShortcodes in ways that facilitate combining various Shortcodes, asappropriate. For example, FIGS. 3C and 4A illustrate maps includingareas in Newport Beach and Manhattan Beach, California and indicatealternative uses of full names with ISCs for various politicaljurisdictions and locations (FIG. 4A) and Shortcodes for variouspolitical jurisdictions and locations, with full names and ISC providedon demand to the user (FIG. 3C). This may be accomplished in ways thatfacilitate the combination of ISCs for bigger areas (countries, states,cities) displayed once on the page with more specific ISCs for otherlocations shown on the page (e.g., specific streets, houses, businesses,POIs or other locations).

Example 13

ISCs may be used in connection with Internet navigation and domain namesthrough the use of both ISCs and their counterpart Shortcodes in URLaddresses, extensions, and search and other navigation strings. Forexample, the URL “China.Beijing.Dongcheng.mapit.com” may beautomatically or alternatively be displayed or presented by a browser ason the page (or pop-up display) as “China.Beijing.Dongcheng.mapit.com”to indicate to a user that in the future inputting “CN.BJ.DNG.mapit.com”may be used as a more abbreviated URL to access the same map, page, orinformation. Alternatively, the URL“www.mapit.com/China.Beijing.Dongcheng” may be automatically oralternatively displayed or presented by the browser to the user asmapit.com/China.Beijing.Dongcheng to indicate to a user that in thefuture inputting the URL www.mapit.com/cn.bj.dng may be used as a moreabbreviated URL to access the same page.

Example 14

In the context of location-based services where multiple Shortcodes maybe used by users to represent various components of traditional physicaladdresses (e.g., countries, states, provinces, cities, neighborhoods,streets, or location names (e.g., McDonalds), etc., sending andreceiving agents or programs may parse and disambiguate alternativemethods of input in both the sending and receiving programs. Forexample, a user inputting just the Shortcode for a location name, e.g.,MCD or McDonalds, may be presented with ISCs or Shortcodes for relevantalternative cities, locations, etc. for such location names in order forthe user to select the desired location. The system or method may thenappend the appropriate names, ISCs, or Shortcodes (e.g., CN.BJ.DNG.MCD).Similarly, the system or method may parse inputs from users of ISCs orShortcodes in any order, as appropriate.

Example 15

One of the aspects of establishing and creating Imbedded Shortcodesystems and methods, as described herein, may be providing processes,systems, and/or methods designed to solicit user feedback and commentsregarding the selection of Shortcodes imbedded in ISCs and monitor theuse of such ISCs to determine their efficacy and to track other measuresregarding their use for commercial and other purposes. For example,programs, websites, and communications may be established that solicituser suggestions, feedback, comments, even polling regarding the bestShortcodes to be assigned and included in ISCs for various locations,neighborhoods, streets, categories of information, or othercommunications systems based on local experience and colloquial usethroughout the world.

Example 16

Another aspects of establishing and creating Imbedded Shortcode systemsand methods, as described herein, may be providing processes, systems,and methods designed to track the use of ISCs and/or their correspondingShortcodes to determine information and metrics related to the use ofsuch ISCs as well as information related to the object related to theunderlying associated names. For example, if a retail location's ISCusage drops dramatically or ceases being used it might evidence theclosing of or other major change related to that retail location.

Example 17

There may be situations where the size of the display on digital devices(e.g., PNDs, Mobile Phones, etc.) or of printed maps or other materials(e.g., business cards, pocket size printed materials) are so limitedrelative to the number of locations or names desired to be displayedthat only Shortcodes are used and displayed. Those Shortcodes maynevertheless be used in the same media or other media to input or selecta location or other name, and the methods and systems incorporated bythe other media may automatically interpret the Shortcode, display theImbedded Shortcode along with the associated full name, andsignificantly facilitate the efficacy and use of the size constraineddisplay and system, thereby allowing substantially more information,locations, etc. to be effectively displayed visually on the size-limiteddisplay and system than may be otherwise displayed. This is beneficialwhether the input of the Shortcode is on another interoperable device orinto an input box or more information box on the same devices, e.g., asdescribed in example 10 above and illustrated in FIG. 2B.

Example 18

Currently computer software operating systems, programs, andapplications are unable to store characters with the imbedded codingnecessary to make the use of ISCs easy and interoperable across varioussystems. For example, it is not possible to copy the ISC “Rancho SantaFe” as it appears in a word document, database, or spreadsheet directlyinto a search box written in HTML, the language used for most Internetpages and Internet browsers, etc. and for the resulting ISC to bedisplayed automatically in the form in which it was copied—with the “R”,“S”, and “F” underlined or bolded or otherwise marked. Further, the word“test” normally requires 4 characters of space to store in a simpledatabase. However, the same word “test” with an ISC for the Shortcode TS(TEST) may take additional characters of space to store: the first four(4) characters of space to store the word itself and an additional two(2) characters of space to store the position of the underlinedcharacters, or “1,3”, therefore requiring additional storage andprocesses to use ISCs. Accordingly, the effective implementation of theISC system described herein may likely require creation of additionalcodes, processes, and data fields populated with the additionalformatting data necessary to implement ISCs. In the context of storingand processing millions of ISCs, this may generate significantadditional demands on the database servers and processing. The creationof an additional character set including flags or alternative characters(e.g., “A” or “a”) that are included in the ISC may enable the much moreefficient use of ISCs and other similar functionality across allcomputer and electronic systems. This may be accomplished throughplug-ins, alternative coding and database or other methods, or possiblythrough the addition of ISC marked characters into subsequent versionsof computer programming characters sets such as ASCII and UTF-8.

Example 19

ISCs and Shortcodes may be used in search strings in order to quicklyand efficiently designate information relevant to a search, and ISCs maybe used to promote the use of such abbreviated searching techniques. Inthe context of an LBS Search, a user may search for “hotels near PregoRistorante in Newport Beach California USA” and the search results maydisplay the search results in way that indicate the location of thesearch by using ISCs (e.g., “hotels near UnitedStates.California.Newport Beach.Prego Ristorante”) or alternatively justthe corresponding Shortcode for the address (e.g., “hotels nearUS.CA.NB.PREGO”). Thereafter, after learning of the Shortcode for thevarious geographic components of the location of the search, the usersmay affect the same search by merely entering the Shortcode and thedesired search term into the search box. For example, a user inputtingUS.CA.NB.PREGO.hotels into a mobile phone may generate a search forhotels near the location of PREGO, or by utilizing context as describedearlier the user may only need to input the Shortcode PREGO.hotels, orperhaps even inputting something as short as PREGO.RES to designate asearch for restaurants near PREGO if the user had been previously madeaware of the Shortcode RES for Restaurant through the use of an ISC“Restaurant”).

It will be appreciated that the systems and methods herein may beperformed by one or more computers or other electronic devicescommunicating via a network. For example, FIG. 9 shows an exemplaryembodiment of a system 8 for establishing, searching, and/or otherwiseusing ISCs, according to the systems and methods herein. As shown, thesystem 8 includes various devices connected to a network 40, such asuser devices 10, 20, 30, n, and an ISC database manager 50.

In one embodiment, the network 40 may be a wide area network (“WAN”), alocal area network (“LAN”), an intranet, a wireless network, a shortmessaging service (“SMS”), or a telephony network. For example, thenetwork 40 may incorporate several different types of networks includinga WAN, a LAN, and/or a wireless network; one such network includingmultiple different types of networks is the Internet.

Each of the user devices 10-n is a computing device, such as a desktopcomputer, a laptop computer, a mobile or cellular telephone, a personaldigital assistant (e.g., a Palm Pilot device, Blackberry device, and thelike), an interactive television, a vehicle or portable navigationsystem, a kiosk, a lobby or elevator monitor, or other electronicdevice, capable of communicating via the network 40. Generally, the userdevices 10-n may include one or more processors, memory and/or storagedevices, communication interfaces, and/or user interfaces, e.g., adisplay, keyboard, mouse, and the like (all not shown). Users of theuser devices 10-n may interact with the ISC database, e.g., by inputtingShortcodes or other requests that may result in the inclusion of ISCs inthe information provided or information related to items of interestassociated with the Shortcodes, as described elsewhere herein.

As shown further in FIG. 1, the ISC database manager 50 may include oneor more computer systems, e.g., servers, communicating with one or moredatabases, e.g., including one or more processors, memory and/or storagedevices, and communication interfaces for communicating via the network40, e.g., with users 10-n and/or other parties involved in the methodsperformed by the system 8. The ISC database manager 50 may include oneor more hardware-based components and/or software-based modules forperforming the various functions related to the methods performed, asdescribed elsewhere herein. Although only one ISC database manager 50 isshown in FIG. 9, it will be appreciated that multiple database managers(not shown) may be provided. The hardware and/or other components of theISC database manager 50 and/or other components of the system may besimilar to those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,839,088, and U.S.Publications Nos. 2005/0283503 and 2007/ 0244872, the entire disclosuresof which are expressly incorporated by reference elsewhere herein.

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications, andalternative forms, specific examples thereof have been shown in thedrawings and are herein described in detail. It should be understood,however, that the invention is not to be limited to the particular formsor methods disclosed, but to the contrary, the invention is to cover allmodifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the scope ofthe appended claims.

I claim:
 1. A method for disambiguating or enhancing communications withelectronic devices, comprising: enabling a user to select, using anelectronic device, one or more inputted or included terms in acommunication intended for one or more recipient devices; enabling theuser to request that the electronic device attempt disambiguating orenhancing the one or more inputted or included terms, whereupon, ifdetermined to be appropriate by the electronic device, the electronicdevice disambiguates one or more of the one or more inputted or includedterms either internally or in collaboration with or by performing alocal search via the electronic device or in conjunction with a remoteserver hosting a third-party database clearinghouse with informationrelated to the one or more of the one or more inputted or includedterms; and presenting additional information related to the one or moreof the one or more inputted or included terms on a display of theelectronic device.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein presenting theadditional information is accomplished using at least one of:communications that contain terms that are determined to be eithergeographic or are determined to be other recognized identifiers and haveeither locally stored disambiguation, enhancement, or additionalinformation in the one or more recipient devices or use the remoteserver hosting the third-party database clearinghouse or other sourcefor the disambiguation or additional information; user identificationinformation known or accessible by at least one electronic device; past,present, or projected location of at least one of the user of theelectronic device or of the electronic device itself; historicalinformation associated with at least one of the user of the electronicdevice or of the electronic device itself; search information associatedwith at least one of the user of the electronic device or of theelectronic device itself; and contextual information known or accessibleby at least one of the user or electronic device.
 3. The method of claim1, wherein the electronic device automatically analyzes inputted termsin a communication and attempts to enhance or disambiguate the term orterms using one or more of the steps of claim
 2. 4. The method of claim1, wherein the disambiguation or additional information is determinedbased at least in part on one or more rules and parameters included inthe communication.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein at least oneelectronic device interacts with the third-party database clearinghouse,and: a. the third-party database clearinghouse collects contextualinformation regarding terms from one or more electronic devices which isstored to at least one of a user, device, term, location, assignedidentifier profile or otherwise used to enhance future disambiguation oradditional information used in communications including the terms by oneor more electronic devices; and b. the third-party databaseclearinghouse disambiguates or provides additional information by one ormore of: i. assigning information to terms; ii. proposing information tobe assigned to terms; iii. acquiring, analyzing and using prior userinput and feedback; and iv. acquiring, analyzing and using additionalinformation obtained from a third-party website or other informationsource.
 6. The method of claim 1, whereby encryption or other measuresare utilized for security purposes in the communication.
 7. The methodof claim 1, further comprising a recipient electronic device collectingfeedback from users and other devices as to relevance, usefulness ofinformation communicated when a term is used, disambiguated or enhancedsuch that the feedback is stored either on at least one of theelectronic devices or the third-party database, to be retrieved andapplied to future communications.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein areceiving electronic device of the one or more recipient devicesreceives the additional information, and then enables a user of thereceiving electronic device to choose how the additional information iscommunicated, or the additional information is automatically retrievedand communicated based upon one or more of: a. a user id; b. userhistory; c. device history; d. device generated contextual information;e. contextual information obtained from a third party databaseclearinghouse; f a type of information contained within thecommunication; and g. the communication utilizing a designated keywordor trigger word.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the electronic deviceinitiates the disambiguation or enhancement device to query the user asto the usefulness of disambiguation information in order to furtherdisambiguate or enhance the information to be delivered from the thirdparty database clearinghouse.
 10. The method of claim 8, whereby thethird part database clearinghouse is curated at least in part bymonitoring the usage of terms, identifiers, locations, keywords, triggerwords, and user provided terms in order to optimize relevancy andimprove disambiguation and enhancement.
 11. The method of claim 1,whereby the communication is at least in part facilitated by voicerecognition.
 12. The method of claim 1, whereby the one or more termsdisambiguated or enhanced by the electronic device are locations ormicro-locations and are disambiguated or enhanced either by the userindicating that they wish to receive map information or if determined tobe appropriate by the device, disambiguation is facilitated eitherinternally by the device or in collaboration with a remote serverhosting a third-party database related to the terms.
 13. The method ofclaim 1, whereby the one or more terms are enhanced by automaticallydisplaying one or more of the one or more terms by indicating locationson a map with or without additional information related to such terms byincluding navigation or route information related to such locations. 14.A computer program comprising instructions which, when the program isexecuted by a computer, cause the computer to carry out the steps of themethod of claim 1.